


My Friend, the Martyr

by RavenWolfie97



Category: TOME: Terrain of Magical Expertise
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-07
Updated: 2017-06-04
Packaged: 2018-09-30 20:00:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10170716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenWolfie97/pseuds/RavenWolfie97
Summary: This story takes place in a TOME AU where Zetto never created an alternate account, and he was the one chosen to carry the antivirus.





	1. Prologue

Christopher sighed. He laid in bed on his back, an arm draped over his forehead, his eyes closed. Sleep was gradually getting better for him, but visions of the past still plagued his mind, forcing him to stay awake. In this small moment, he began remembering his time working at Netking Software, helping to create something incredible. He remembered the exhilaration of first entering the forest expanse and trying out his new powers. He remembered the teasing smile of his friend’s character Kizuna as they fought against each other. Chris missed that smile… After that, all he could remember was fighting against a dragon of shadow and-  
*****************************************************************************************************************************************************  
…Slowly, Chris regained his grip on reality. His left arm jolted from his forehead, snapping him out of his reminiscence. His breath was short. His sight was blurred. All he could feel was burning, sickening pain coursing through his entire body. But, once he realized, he drew in a long breath and settled back down into his bed.  
Chris went back to thinking about the past, and talking to his superior Rubi about destroying the virus that beast he faced had contracted. He remembered both fire and ice in his heart as he made the decision to track down its location, so it would never have the chance to hurt anyone again. Kizuna helped him too, but… soon he began drifting away from that. He remembered the thrill of fighting against opponents in ;Lavendera, like he used to do in his testing days. That was what he wanted to do more than anything else, but he knew his loyalties were torn between playing the game and trying to stop an evil within it. He remembered meeting people he enjoyed the company of, but they never lasted, until one day. He remembered when he first encountered Alpha. A smile finally crept upon Chris’s face. He remembered meeting the shy young man on his first day in ;Lavendera. He was a fantastic fighter for having no prior experience - the kid was a natural. That must have been why Chris liked him so much. He was the only person who he could hang around with without any problems. Well, after Kizuna lost her spark, that is…

He remembered, since he had drifted so far off into his own world with Alpha, Kizuna and Rubi decided to contract some extra hands to dig through TOME to find the virus. He was having so much fun now, he had trouble feeling bad for neglecting his task. But when the two they hired started to cause mayhem, feeling bad was a little bit easier for him. It got easier and easier the longer this went on…


	2. A Plan Takes Shape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This story takes place in a TOME AU where Zetto never created an alternate account and he was the one chosen to carry the antivirus.
> 
> Things begin to change as Zetto prepares to take his mission seriously.

A low hum resonated throughout the dark red room as Kizuna waited at her workspace for her partner. The words she heard earlier that night were buzzing in her head. _They actually felt pain? That’s impossible,_ she thought. _It must have just been a mind trick._  
She diverted her attention to the other side of the room when a beam of light flashed in. “Hey,” she greeted.  
The man who stepped out of the light didn't reply in kind and got straight to the point. “You had something you wanted to tell me?”  
Kizuna narrowed her eyes slightly, but dismissed it as she explained. “One of our clients reported that they encountered something akin to the virus. He was fought with a strange attack that hurt him physically.”  
Her partner’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?”  
“As sure as I can be, Zetto, given only his word,” the sharpshooter responded. “Did you notice anything on your end?”  
Zetto stirred in place as he thought. “Yes. The Forbidden Power… is latched to a character model. His name is Alpha, and-”  
“Alpha? You mean your friend?” Kizuna cut him off in surprise.  
“Yeah…” Zetto looked away for a moment. “One moment we were battling in ;Lavendera, and the next his personality had changed dramatically. Then he started heading after our ‘hackers’.” His voice started to quiver. “I can only guess he got in contact with the virus in the middle of the fight, but… how…?”  
“Calm down,” Kizuna said in a low voice. “What did he do to our clients?”  
Zetto took a deep breath. “When Alpha attacked them, they reacted as if he had actually hurt them. He brought up some kind of… shield of static with glowing marks around it, and that sent the two of them running,” he described.  
Kizuna nodded her head. “That’s exactly what he told me…” She sighed. “So now we know who we’re dealing with. What do we do now?”  
“We need to remove the virus from him as soon as possible,” Zetto answered, determination in his voice. “You remember how the virus was sealed away in the first place, right?”  
“No, I was helping you out, you idiot,” she scoffed. “But Rubi said that SOFDTI attacked it with a purple flame and locked it away with a code I bet we wouldn’t have access to.”  
“Those Netking programmers are smart people. He should be able to figure out how to obtain that code,” Zetto stated.  
The hum filled the room once again as the two trailed off into thought.  
Zetto broke the silence first. “But, even if or when we emulate the… antivirus code, what will we do with it?” He spoke timidly. “How will we fix this?”  
Putting a hand under her chin, Kizuna pondered. “We need to physically contact his character model. That might be the only way the antivirus could counteract it,” she explained. “But then, we need to find someone who can do that without being suspicious… Someone close to him, someone he can trust.”

“I’ll do it.”

Kizuna shot her head up and stared at Zetto with wide, unbelieving eyes. “What, are you crazy?! You could get hurt again! Are you even thi-!?”  
“I know full well what the consequences might be,” Zetto started, his voice unwavering. “But I am willing to do this for Alpha.” He grasped his metal arm subconsciously. “I don’t want anyone else to get involved. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt…” He paused, putting his arm back by his side. “Besides, those two we hired were a complete waste of time, money, and tolerance. All they did was make things worse. And, well, you know what they say…”  
He shot a sideways glance to his partner, but Kizuna met him with a cold, fierce glare. They stayed there, staring red into gold, but eventually she let out a hefty sigh.  
“Fine.” There was fire in her tone. “You can have it your way. Just know I’m not going to feel bad if you get yourself hurt out there.” With that, she turned back towards her workspace. “I’m going to call Rubi. You go get some rest,” she demanded.  
Zetto stood silently for a moment before stepping over to Kizuna and putting his hands on her shoulders. “You should get some rest, too, you know,” he said softly.  
She felt the faint force on her shoulders, but Kizuna tried to disregard it. “I know what I’m doing, Chris.”  
Even though her tone was soft, the sting behind his real name shot right through Zetto.  
“I’ll see you in the morning,” Kizuna parted dismissively.  
Zetto swallowed. “R-right… See you tomorrow.” His hands slipped off as he turned away to log out of the base.


	3. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This story takes place in a TOME AU where Zetto never created an alternate account and he was the one chosen to carry the antivirus.
> 
> Zetto gets a little upgrade before beginning his mission.

Chris stumbled out of bed, wiping the tiredness from his eyes. A few days had passed, and he still hasn’t gotten much sleep. He either stayed up past midnight playing TOME or laid in his room trying to rest without getting any nightmares. His mind kept going back to the virus and agonized over what might happen to him if he touched it. A venom burned in his arm as he replayed the thought over and over in his head… But once he got a text message from Lily, he had to forget it. Chris made his way to the computer, logged in, and put the VR helmet on.

Zetto transported himself to TOME’s moon, awaiting the one who wanted to see him. Instead, Kizuna came out of the shadows.  
“Good morning,” she said wryly.  
“Same to you.” He had the decency to reply to his partner this time. “Where is Rubi?”  
“Not here anymore,” Kizuna responded, “but he left something for you.”  
A shiver went up Zetto’s spine, a confused mix of wonder, anticipation, and fear. Kizuna retrieved an item from the ether, a crystal prism with that purple flame trapped inside.  
“So, that’s it?” Zetto muttered. “The antivirus…”  
Kizuna nodded. “He said all you have to do is touch it for it to meld to your character.”  
“Then, why aren’t you affected by it?” Zetto asked, noticing she was holding the prism.  
“It’s designed specifically to attach to you,” she answered. “Now go on. Take it.”  
Kizuna tossed the crystal over to him. Zetto, though his instinct was to recoil away, grabbed the crystal tight with his cybernetic arm. A tingling sensation flowed through his whole body as he absorbed the power of the prism. Once the feeling began to fade away, the crystal shattered without a trace.

The two stood in silence for a moment, curious as to what would happen next.  
Zetto moved his left arm. Mobility was fine, no pain or weird feelings. “That went better than I expected,” he mumbled to himself with a little chuckle.  
Did he see a smile on Kizuna’s face for a second? “Well, now you need to track down your friend and get this over with,” she explained.  
“Yeah…” He trailed off again, recalling his recurring night terrors. He tried to hide the shivering that racked him, but Kizuna had already seen.  
“Don’t worry so much,” she consoled, speaking gently for once. “If all goes as planned, this should be just fine.”  
Zetto looked over at her, surprised at her optimism.  
Her eyes were soft.  
That little thing, that small bit of hope, was enough to bring peace to his mind.  
He let out a sigh. “I’m gonna go and try to sleep.”  
“Me too,” Kizuna replied. “It’s been a long night.”  
Zetto smiled. “Good night, Kizuna.”  
“See you later, Chris.” This time, there was warmth in that name.  
Chris slipped his helmet off of his head, messed his brown hair back into place, and promptly flopped down onto his bed, knowing pleasant dreams awaited him.


	4. The First Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This story takes place in a TOME AU where Zetto never created an alternate account and he was the one chosen to carry the antivirus.
> 
> Zetto catches up with his friends for a bit.

1 pm. That’s when he decided to wake up. Thankfully, Chris rose feeling more fresh than he had in days. Perhaps that antivirus also helped out in the real world.  
After a shower and some food, he was ready to hop into TOME and have some fun with his friends. His ultimate task dwelled in the back of his mind, but he just had to wait for the right time.  
Today was a good day, too. Flamegirl went to hang out with Saturndiva and Whyti, and Alpha and Nylocke were in a heated competition with two dinosaur characters. GameCrazed was nowhere to be found today, but that was okay. What mattered most was Alpha.

Zetto met up with the party of two as they wandered through the violet wasteland to go and join Flamey and her friends.  
“Man, I wish I had been there to fight those dinosaur guys. That would’ve been the fun part of the day,” he relayed to them.  
“Always so focused on combat, Squire,” Nylocke sighed. “While friendly competition is an exhilarating activity, one must also be able to relish in the calm company of others. Wouldn’t you agree, Sir Alpha?”  
“Huh?” Nylocke’s redirection caught him off-guard. “Oh, yeah. Fighting is fun, but getting to just hang out is just as good,” Alpha translated.  
“Yeah, I guess…” Zetto agreed. “But sitting around all day is so boring! There’s no thrill in that.”  
“There’s a little bit of a thrill in talking to your friends,” Alpha piped up. A faint blush crept up on his face.  
Nylocke seemed to notice it, too. “Nyaha, it appears some friend particularly strikes your fancy, eh Sir Alpha of Obvious Infatuation?”  
The boy’s wings flapped, flustered. “Wh-what?!” he exclaimed, his blush deepening. “Well, I guess so… I-I-I mean, it’s probably just a stupid crush! I’ll get over it.”  
Zetto smirked out of both playfulness and curiosity. “Something tells me that’s not the case.”  
Alpha exhaled a shaky breath. “I mean… I hardly even know Flamey. All of you guys have known her for months, and I’m just another guy…”  
“Nonsense!” Nylocke cheered. “Lady Flamegirl has always spoken fondly of you. Perhaps the feeling is mutual.”  
“You think so?”  
“Ugh, stop, you’re gonna make me sick!” Zetto teased. “Just let whatever’s gonna happen happen. There’s no need to get all gossipy.”  
“You’re right,” Alpha said. “Oh! I should let Flamey know we’re on our way. Let me shoot her a quick PM…”

Zetto’s gaze wandered across the purple landscape as he waited for his friend to write his message. ;Mechcity’s border was just over the horizon. His mind began to drift…  
Suddenly, a small flash of red darted out from the top of a cliff.  
 _What is that…?_ He squinted at the creature.  
The sun behind it revealed a silhouette of… a cat!  
A small gasp escaped him. _Kizuna? What is she-?_  
“C’mon, let’s go, Zetto!”  
The cat dashed away after Alpha called out. Zetto let out a faint _tch_ and turned back around to face his friends. “Right behind you.”  
He slowly followed behind the two as they made their way to the city. His mind now lingered on the cat.  
 _Why is Kizuna out here? There’s no reason for her to be._ He bared his teeth. _I said I could do this myself! What could she be doing…?!_


	5. A Dangerous Duo Appears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This story takes place in a TOME AU where Zetto never created an alternate account and he was the one chosen to carry the antivirus.
> 
> (Time for my favorite thing to write: absolute disaster.)  
> Zetto and company run into some trouble, and his new antivirus has to go into effect.

Tall steel buildings surrounded the three players as they walked through ;Mechcity. Alpha and Nylocke were chatting along, while Zetto was still perplexed after finding Kizuna roaming in her cat form. _Maybe it was just a coincidence,_ he thought. _It couldn’t have been anything bad._  
“Hey, Flamey!” Zetto snapped back into focus when Alpha called out to his friend.  
Over at The Platform, the three girls sat around at a table. Flamegirl waved her hand in the air. “Hey guys, come over here!” she beckoned.  
The three went over to the cafe at their own table beside the girls. Alpha sat closest to Flamey, Nylocke sat behind him, and Zetto stayed in the back, avoiding the conversation.  
“So, you’re Alpha, huh?” Saturndiva questioned. “Nice to finally meet’cha.”  
“We’ve heard a lot about you!” Whyti told him with a bright smile.  
He fidgeted in his seat. “Y-yeah? Nice to meet you all, too!”

The conversation between the group was dull on Zetto’s ears while he stared out into the city. He was never really interested in chatter like that, even if his close friends were involved. His eyes drifted along the streets, watching the people go across the sidewalks.  
Another little flash of red peeked out from between the crowds.   
_No way…_  
Kizuna’s cat form quietly perched at the side of an alleyway with two shadowed figures beside her.  
 _No, no, no… What the hell is she doing?!_  
With a flick of her tail, the two strangers jumped out of the alleyway and into the sky. One of them transmogrified into a large black bird and flew overhead, the other soared down with powerful speed.  
“Look out!” Zetto’s warning came too late, as hellfire exploded around the area once that character crashed to earth. Everyone was blown back and scattered, flinching from the sudden attack.  
Zetto squinted through the flames to look at the attacker - a red demon with sharp claws and huge golden wings. His dark eyes swept across the field, clearly focused on finding a specific target.  
They narrowed. He found it.  
The devil lunged over to a body crouching behind a toppled chair and grabbed his arm tight. It was Alpha.  
Zetto scrambled to his feet and rushed over there. He shifted his robotic arm and shot a chain that coiled around the demon’s wrist. He wrenched back, forcing the demon to stumble away, and then, with his free arm, slashed the hellspawn with his Ki Blade.  
The demon backed off, giving Zetto just enough time to take Alpha by the arm, and without a word they raced away.

Passersby stare in confusion at the two Fighters running as fast as their legs could take them through the streets. Buildings and avatars were all blurs of color to Zetto; his mind was blank and his only thought was to run.  
They came to an intersection. Zetto stopped for far too long frantically figuring out which direction to go. “This way!” he decided, taking a sharp right turn that rounded into an alleyway.  
He cursed under his breath. “Shit, it’s a dead end!”  
Before he and Alpha could have even turned around, large wings flapped above them as the black bird sailed down to the ground and transformed into a lithe human. They were trapped.  
The bird man smirked and let out a sly chuckle. “Well, well, well… Look what the cat dragged out. A couple of pigeons just _itching_ to fly away.”  
“What’s going on…?!” Alpha whimpered.  
“That’s what I’d like to know…” Zetto growled through gritted teeth.  
“Isn’t it obvious?” the stranger drawled. “We’re coming after you, _boy._ ”  
With a flick of his wrist, he pinned an array of Feather Daggers straight into Alpha’s body.  
Zetto whipped around snarling at his opponent. “Who the hell are you?!”  
The man cackled. “Are you blind? Read the supertitle, you stupid shark,” he insulted. “It’s Ravenfreak.” He looked away from Zetto. “Besides, you’re not deserving of my time.”  
Ravenfreak flickered forward right up to Alpha and smacked him upside with his wing, sending the boy away with his back to the wall.  
He slanted his eyes. “I’ve heard tell that you’re a big, strong hero around here…” Ravenfreak breathed, inches from Alpha’s face. “I never expected you to be such a _coward!_ ”  
A lightning spark struck the blackbird man and sent him to the ground. Alpha stood with a confused but unmistakably offended expression.  
“Ahahah! Now he starts to get wise!” Ravenfreak chuckled. He continued to taunt him. “Your little party out there is getting slaughtered, and you run away without a second thought. How pathetic!”  
Zetto watched, seeing Alpha tremble in rage at the stranger’s jibes.  
“You…” Alpha growled. “Shut. Up.”  
Ravenfreak lowered his eyes cheekily. “Make me.”  
Without hesitation, Alpha rushed Ravenfreak with a Vulcan Fist, barely missing as he flashed away up into the air. The hacker Triplicated and sent a barrage of feathers down on his target, who blocked all he could with an Orion Shield.

Zetto itched to help his friend take down this creep… but something felt off. This all felt so very deliberate. He thought back to seeing Kizuna tracking Alpha’s movements, and how she signaled the two characters to ambush them. Clearly she had a plan, something that she thought would have helped, but… Zetto didn’t know what for sure. He had to keep waiting for the right time, as much as it pained him now.  
Alpha’s anger grew and grew as every attempt at attacking his opponent wound up in failure. The feathers Ravenfreak launched whittled down his health pixel by pixel - it was _agonizing_.  
He had to stop.  
Alpha’s hand grasped the air tensely, generating a static energy around him.  
Ravenfreak let out a small, deranged smile. “So that’s it…”  
Alpha forced the static over to Ravenfreak and enveloped him in the dark energy. He growled with murderous intent.  
Zetto stared in horror as he watched Ravenfreak writhe in the static field, how the life seemed to drain out of his eyes…  
Something took him over. This was the right time.  
“ _NO!_ ” Zetto screamed, rushing over to his friend, embracing him tightly. A sudden wave of warmth rushed through him from his left arm. Was that the force of the antivirus? Whatever it was, it made Alpha immediately release Ravenfreak from the virus’ power’s clutch.  
The man gasped in air. His voice shook wildly as he relished in the aftermath. “That was… genuine pain…!” He truly did sound like he was on the brink of suffocation.  
Ravenfreak stumbled to his feet, taking one last look at the two Fighters. “I think we’ve all had enough pain for one day… You ended up lucky. Adieu…” With that, he disappeared in a flash of light.  
The two of them were wide-eyed in shock and stood beside each other in a dull silence. Scared witnesses began crowding around the area, whispering worries amongst themselves.  
They couldn’t be bothered to hear them. Both their minds were swarming with questions… none of which had clear answers…


	6. Recovering from Damages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This story takes place in a TOME AU where Zetto never created an alternate account and he was the one chosen to carry the antivirus.
> 
> Zetto and Alpha take a moment to recollect themselves and understand what all the commotion was for.

It took a moment for Alpha and Zetto to recover from the incident. They were both so confused, distraught, and afraid of what happened and was coming next. Zetto had a feeling, but Alpha… He had no idea.  
Zetto still gripped Alpha’s wrist in his metal hand. He could feel him shivering.  
“I… I don’t even know what I was just doing…” Alpha whispered. “What did I do…?” He turned to face Zetto, his voice raising. “What did I do to him?”  
Zetto couldn’t look him in the eye. What was he supposed to tell him? Even he didn’t exactly know what the Forbidden Power was capable of _inside_ of a character. “I don’t know…” he simply answered him. Now he looked at Alpha straight on as he commanded, “Let’s go check on the others.”  
Alpha nodded, and the two jogged back to The Platform.

The ground around the cafe area had recovered, and random players helped to set the tables and chairs back into place. But their friends were not there anymore. Alpha and Zetto searched around until they got to the park, where their group rested among the benches. They hurried over there.  
Flamegirl lifted up her head once she heard them running over. “Alpha! Zetto!” she called. “Are you two alright? We were worried sick!”  
The two waited until they were directly in front of the group to explain. “Yeah, we’re… we’re fine,” Zetto said.  
“Are all of you guys okay?” Alpha asked them.  
“Aye,” Nylocke proclaimed. “The foul demon was fierce, but no match for our combined might.”  
“So, what happened to you guys?” Saturndiva inquired. “You ran off as soon as that Demonking guy attacked us. What was that about?”  
Alpha and Zetto shared a glance. Zetto was uncertain of what to say, and Alpha was genuinely concerned as to why they did run.  
“There was another player,” Alpha actually started, simply explaining the situation. “The both of them were after me for some reason, and I have no idea what for.”  
Everyone’s eyes widened. “And you’re okay?” Flamegirl asked him again, concern in her voice.  
Alpha smiled warmly at her. “Yeah, I’m okay. I’m sorry I worried you.”  
After a moment, Saturndiva groaned and stood up from her seat. “Well, I think I’m gonna go. Don’t wanna run into anymore weird people today,” she announced.  
“Me too,” Whyti agreed.  
“Okay. See you later,” Flamey parted as they logged off. “I think I should head off, too. You sure everything’s okay, Alpha?” she asked him one last time.  
“Yes, everything is fine now. Don’t worry about it,” Zetto answered for him.  
Flamegirl blinked. “Okay… Well, goodbye.”  
“Bye.” Alpha said before she left.  
“And what about you, Nylocke?” Zetto wondered, as the dragon was the only one beside him and Alpha left.  
“I shall remain here on the Terrain,” Nye replied. “If any other dangerous opponents dare to rear their heads, I will be ever vigilant and take them down, for I am… NYLOCKE! DRAGON OF RIGHTEOUS JUSTICE! Farewell! _Whoosh!_ ” With that, he headed for ;Lavendera.

Now Alpha and Zetto were alone, standing in the middle of the ;Mechcity park with no other friends to accompany them.  
“So, uh…” Alpha muttered. “What now?”  
Zetto summoned a deep breath and looked his friend hard in the eyes. “Alpha, we need to talk,” he told him firmly. “Come on, follow me.”  
He turned and quickly walked off. Alpha, confused at Zetto’s sudden determination, followed shortly behind him. They didn't say a word on the way, and they didn’t stop until they got to a building complex for social activity. They found a vacant room and went inside. Zetto locked the door behind him and moved over to sit next to Alpha on the couch.  
“What is this about?” Alpha asked.  
Zetto exhaled. “Something is very, very wrong… with you, Alpha.”  
Alpha’s eyes widened. “Wh-what are you talking about?!”  
“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” Zetto snapped. “There’s something inside of you, Alpha, something that should have never been found. It makes you angry.” He paused. “It makes you _hurt people._ ”  
He looked into Alpha’s eyes. The boy’s face was filled with horror. “You know… about this?” Alpha croaked.  
Zetto simply nodded. “It’s a virus. We call it the ‘Forbidden Power’. And it’s… bad.” He couldn’t quite think of how to describe the virus to him. “I’ve never seen it in another person’s body… and I have no idea how you could have found it… but you’ve seen its results, haven’t you?” he asked Alpha directly.  
He flinched. “I-I mean… I remember that those two hackers from a while ago were acting weird after I… fought them? Apparently I fought them off? I don’t even remember doing that, I just heard from Flamey…” He paused to think. “I do remember finding some weird thing, on the other side of a doorway.”  
Zetto perked up. This was interesting.  
“I have no idea where I was - it was just an empty, white area,” Alpha continued explaining. “There was this… thing in the middle of the room, chained up… Some kind of static blob or something, I don’t know. All I remember after that is watching those hackers run away.”  
Alpha shuddered when he saw the fear and understanding in Zetto’s face. "That’s it," he breathed. "That’s the virus." 

He glanced over to Alpha. “Did it speak to you?”  
Alpha looked at him incredulously, but after thinking he responded. “When I first met it… It told me it could make me stronger and if I didn’t have that strength I would lose all of you… And then I let it in…”  
He turned his head back to Zetto as he heard a harsh breath escape him. “Did it hurt…?”  
“Wh-? I don’t know… I guess it did, but I must have blacked out…”  
A weak chuckle came out of Zetto. “Well, that’s better off than what I did…” Alpha watched him drift to his metal arm. A weary expression was worn on his face.  
“…What happened to you?”  
Zetto leaned back. “It’s a long story. Plus, that’s not important right now. What’s important is you.” He placed a hand on Alpha’s shoulder. “The Forbidden Power is taking over your mind. When you’re in a place of weakness or negativity, it springs and controls you, and then you hurt people. You nearly _killed_ one today!” He stopped when he noticed his harshness and loosened his grip on Alpha. But he didn’t say anymore.   
Alpha slumped back into the couch, collapsing in disbelief. “I can’t believe it… So this thing in me is… controlling me? And hurting people, like in real life?!” Panic wracked him. “I don’t… I don’t know what to do…”  
“Calm down,” Zetto said softly. “That kind of fear is what the virus latches onto.” He sighed. “Look. I’m trying to get rid of that damned thing. It was sealed away before with an antivirus code, and I have that in my model now.” He lifted up his robotic arm.  
Alpha’s eyes drifted to him. “So, you’re going to get this… virus out of me?”  
Zetto nodded. “I’ll do whatever I can.”  
He flinched when suddenly Alpha hugged him tightly. He sniffled in his ear.  
“Thank you…” the boy choked out quietly through his tears.  
Zetto embraced his friend as well and sat with him there in comfort.


	7. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This story takes place in a TOME AU where Zetto never created an alternate account and he was the one chosen to carry the antivirus.
> 
> Zetto goes to vent his frustrations to Kizuna.

Nighttime rolled around, and Chris had become frustrated. After the fiasco with the two new hackers earlier that day, and after spending some time with Alpha, he felt things were getting out of hand far too quickly. It was a little after 11 pm, and he knew Lily would still be up and in TOME, so Chris put on his helmet and logged in.

Kizuna wasn’t too surprised when Zetto’s beam of light flashed into the moon base. She had a pretty good feeling he would have come. She turned around to face him, but she was slightly shocked to find him storming over to her with burning rage in his eyes.  
Zetto grabbed her by the shawl and thrust her close threateningly. “Explain yourself!” he shouted.  
She tried to remain cool. “Relax. What is your deal?”  
“My deal?” Zetto echoed. “What is your deal?! You caused havoc in the middle of the city, and you nearly cost someone their life!! What the hell were you thinking!?”  
“I was doing my job!” She countered his rage. “You had no plan going into this, so I was forced to make one for you!”  
“I never asked for your help, Lily!” Zetto snarled. “And now, because of what you did, you’ve brought even more attention to our mission! Don’t you know that this is supposed to be a secret?”  
“I am not responsible for the actions of our clients,” Kizuna defended, unperturbed by the hatred in her real name. “What they did was their own fault, I just gave them their directions.”  
“And just what exactly were those directions, huh?” Zetto pushed Kizuna out of his grip to throw his hands up into the air. “Blow up the whole fucking city?!” He didn’t even wait for Kizuna to respond before continuing. “I had everything under control until you showed up and decided to go behind my back and try to do everything yourself, and because of that Alpha’s even more stressed and the virus can possess him even easier now!”

“I wanted to check if the antivirus was even going to work, idiot!” Kizuna finally yelled. “The ambush was supposed to be a diversion so the other client could trap Alpha into attacking him with the virus. Thankfully, you weren’t dumb enough to just stand there and gawk.”  
Zetto was infuriated, but what Kizuna said did make sense. “Would it have killed you to have just told me this instead of doing it without me knowing and just happening to play along?”  
She scoffed. “Like you would have let me do this anyway. I know how you are. You wouldn’t have let anything happen to harm your precious friend.”  
“And for good reason!” Zetto snapped back at her. “You endangered someone’s life doing this - doesn’t that make you feel… something? Anything?”  
“Again, don’t think I planned for that to happen! That was his own fault, and you know it!”  
“God, none of this would have happened if it wasn’t for you!” Zetto shouted. He was through with arguing. He took a deep, calming breath - which really didn’t do much - and told Kizuna one final thing. “You’re better than this, Kizuna. Next time you come up with a plan, you tell me. I don’t want something like this to happen again. Ever. Do you understand me?”  
Kizuna narrowed her eyes. She realized Zetto was right, but her own stubbornness kept her annoyed. “Fine. I understand. It won’t happen again. Just… don’t go off doing things on your own either, okay?”  
Zetto sighed. “Okay. We’ll talk again soon.” He began walking away. “See you.”  
He logged off before Kizuna could even say goodbye. But she didn’t care. She still had plans toiling in her mind that needed to get done. Whether Chris liked them or not was irrelevant - they were the right thing to do.


	8. Returning to Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This story takes place in a TOME AU where Zetto never created an alternate account and he was the one chosen to carry the antivirus.
> 
> Zetto takes his next steps and life starts going back to normal.

Chris stood in front of his computer, staring, mulling over if this was right. It’s been about a month since the ambush, and while his and Lily’s conversations have been minimal, they’ve slowly become more and more trusting. A little debacle came up when one of their first hackers reared their head and caused lots of trouble while Zetto and his friends were on a quest, but that incident was of his own accord, not Lily’s.  
Now there was a new event coming to TOME, the Gemini Tournament, and Chris knew he and his friends would be itching to prepare for that. For the last few days they trained together, but Alpha was nowhere to be found. However, Chris and Lily had thought of a plan for once he had returned.

After looking over their observations, Kizuna determined that the virus was slowly gaining strength, which echoed Zetto’s precognitions. They had to figure out how strong the virus’s power was now and at what rate it was multiplying.  
Zetto paced around the room. “I really don’t want any other people involved, but… I have no idea what other options we have.”  
Kizuna stirred. “Well, who knows what could happen to you, with the weak antivirus code in you.” She sighed. “I’ll take care of it,” she proclaimed.  
“What, no!” Zetto gasped. “I can’t endanger you!”  
“Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan,” the sharpshooter persuaded. “I just need a little help from The Boss.”  
Zetto looked confused. “What are you planning…?”  
“An enhanced character model,” Kizuna explained. “Something durable enough to take a lot of attacks, something that can rile up the virus and take its hits for me. Rubi can copy his shapeshifting ability and link it to the other model. It’ll be as easy as Transmogrify.”  
Frankly, Zetto was astonished at how well thought out Kizuna’s scheme actually was. “Okay then, I will let you discuss that with him. In the meantime,” he said, turning away to leave. “I’ve got some things to think about myself.“

“All right, who’s up next?” Zetto called out after just finishing a battle with Nylocke. He turned to Flamegirl, who sat on the sidelines. “Flamey, you wanna go a round?” he offered.  
The spellcaster jerked her head up at his call. “Uh, no thanks! You can keep going,” she answered tentatively.  
“You’ve been sitting there all day!” Zetto groaned. “You’ve gotta stop moping around waiting for your boyfriend all the damn time!”  
Flamegirl’s face flushed red instantly. “H-he’s not-! And he said he’d be here in a minute!”  
Zetto rolled his eyes. “Fine. GC, you wanna take this next one?”  
Before his opponent could answer, a beam of light soared down just ahead of them. Immediately, Flamegirl checked her friends list. “That’s him!” she shouted jubilantly.  
“Awesome!” Zetto exclaimed. His excitement was evident as he thought about battling against his friend again.  
As soon as Alpha was visible from the horizon, Zetto called out to him. “Yo, Alpha, where’ve ya been? It’s been forever!” However, he quickly deflated once he noticed his friend’s face as he approached. The red-haired boy looked distressed, tired, trying to wear a smile but failing.  
Then he remembered what had happened the last time they spoke. Zetto cleared his throat. “H-hey buddy, how’re you doing?” he greeted him again.  
Alpha’s dulled blue eyes slowly drifted up to meet him. “I’m okay,” he replied, a little more warmth in his voice than expected. “Got kind of a weird welcome-back gift. A couple of weird guys wanted to fight me, and they had this bizarre sun and moon tag-team dynamic going on.”  
Flamey chuckled. “That’s actually not too out of the ordinary right now. Didn’t you see the posters on your way?”  
Alpha blinked. “I mean, yeah, I did, but…”  
“It’s the Gemini Tournament!” Zetto announced. “It’s this big event where everyone fights each other in pairs until one team wins the whole thing. It just got revealed a couple weeks ago, and now we’re battling to get ready for it.”  
“‘Tis more than simply a competition, Squire Zetto of the Singular-Tracked Mind,” Nylocke chimed in. “This event shall showcase not only the strength of the pairs, but the bonds between them! Comrades from all corners of the Terrain will come to test themselves against powerful foes, and those victorious will be so because of their indomitable friendship! That is the true meaning of the Gemini Tournament! Does that not excite you, Sir Alpha?”  
“Y-yeah, that does sound like fun,” Alpha said, getting back into a better mood. “So, how are we pairing up?”  
The other four glanced at each other uncertainly. “We were gonna figure that out a little later, once we know who’s the most compatible with the other,” Zetto replied with a nervous laugh. “Right now we’ve been grinding EXP so we’re all contenders on our own. Speaking of…” Suddenly, his arm guard erupted into a Ki Blade. “It’s about time you start getting back into shape! Let’s go a round!”  
Alpha was stunned. “Right now?”  
“No, in another week,” Zetto answered sarcastically. “Yes, right now! I’ve been waiting to get in on some real action after beating up on these chumps for half a month, so c’mon! Give me all you got!”  
“Okay, okay!” Alpha conceded and got into a fighting stance. “Here we go!”


	9. Tensions Rising

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zetto faces off against a new foe.

With a final Vulcan Fist, Alpha sent Zetto onto the ground, and the battlegrid disintegrated around them. “I thought I was the one who needed to get back into shape,” the boy teased.  
“Best outta ten!” Zetto stubbornly declared after being beaten by Alpha four of five times.  
“I think you’ve had your fun, Zet,” Flamegirl said, standing over him. “I want a turn, too.”  
“Oh, so _now_ you decide to participate because your boyfriend’s finally back,” Zetto snarled. “Figures.”  
Flamey furrowed her brow. “Says the one who’s been hogging him the whole time he’s been back!” she retorted.  
“Hey, at least I’ve done some shit other than wait around for him, like actually playing the game!” Zetto got to his feet and shoved his face in front of Flamegirl’s.  
“Well, I would have loved that, if you ever gave me the chance to!”  
“Guys…!” Alpha sheepishly attempted to intervene.  
“Squire, Lady, please!” Nylocke tried to settle them down. “There is no need for such harsh words…”  
They were completely drowned out by the others’ arguing as Zetto continued. “I gave you plenty of chances, but you were too busy daydreaming! You know, I bet you’re just some old pervert in real life.”  
“Oh my God, you are such an asshole!” Flamegirl shouted. “Why do you even hang around with us if we’re so goddamn annoying to you?!”  
“Oh, I’m sorry! I guess I _shouldn’t_ hang around with you guys! I’d be better off playing on my own without you sorry excuses for friends holding me back!”

“WILL YOU TWO STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!!!”  
Zetto and Flamegirl turned with shocked faces towards Alpha, who stood shaking and on the verge of tears. Before any of them could say anything though, a gigantic figure flew out from above the chasm and slammed down in between them and Alpha. The creature was a huge, orange, metallic cat with long claws and glowing green eyes, and those weren’t the only tricks it had as everyone found out when an ear-splitting screech released from its jaws.  
The entire party covered their ears. As they were disoriented by the sound, the cat raised its claws to attack. Alpha was still frozen in place and nearly took the hit before Gamecrazed morphed in front of him to defend, getting torn to pieces by the beast’s massive swipe.  
“SIR GAMECRAZED!” Nylocke howled before turning to the metal beast, his icy sword appearing in his hands and a raging fire in his eyes. “Thou shan’t get away with this!” He lunged at his opponent and raised his sword overhead, swirling up a blizzard of energy. “Prepare to face me - NYLOCKE! DRAGON OF- _Oof!!_ ” The dragon cut off as he flew across the ravine from another powerful slash from the beast.  
After recovering from the sound, Zetto turned to Flamegirl. “What do we do?” he asked her. He feigned his fear, but in honesty he was not sure how to act while Kizuna enacted her plan.  
Flamey gave him a harsh look at first, but her aggression waned as she thought of something quickly. “I’m going to check on Alpha. You distract this thing!” That was all she said before dashing off.  
“Got it!” Zetto responded, and got into a stance. _Let’s see just how tough your defenses really are!_

Alpha attempted to attack the robotic beast with a Poseidon Wave, but he couldn’t tell if he did it any damage - no health meter appeared around the model. Before he could attack again with Zeus Rage, the beast took a couple swipes at him and slammed Alpha down into the dirt, then letting out another deafening screech. Zetto braved it, and from behind he let loose a barrage of bullets from his machine gun arm into the beast’s armor.  
“HEY!” He tried catching its attention, and when the metal cat whirled its head back, Zetto launched a chain to wrap around one of its claws, drew himself in, and slashed with his Ki Blade directly on its face. It retaliated quickly, gripping around the chain, leaving Zetto dangling. He choked out a hard release of air as the beast slammed and pinned him down into the purple ground.  
The piercing green eyes stared into his fiercely; he knew Kizuna was glaring at him, and was trying to tell him to back off and not fight. Not yet.  
“Zetto!” He heard Flamegirl call out. Looking beyond the metallic cat’s massive paw, he saw she had made it over to Alpha, who was frozen in fear. His eyes were unfocused and darting around, as if he was experiencing something unseen by everyone else.  
Flamey shot a Sun Bomb at the back of the metallic cat’s head. “Switch!” she shouted as she leaped into the air with a Rocket Burn attack and smacked the cat’s paw off the ground.  
Zetto cut himself free from his chain and zipped over to Alpha’s side. “Alpha, are you okay? Can you hear me?” he asked quickly, crouching down next to him.  
“Zetto, i-it’s back!” Alpha spat out before grasping his head and growling in frustration. “It’s…!”  
“The virus? What is it saying to you?”  
The angel’s body began shivering, and his eyes flickered from blue to red. “I…” He tried to choke out words. “I will… _kill…_ ”  
Zetto’s eyes widened. “Oh, no.” He turned back to the others and yelled, “Flamey, get out of here!”

He barely made it out of the way when a force suddenly erupted from Alpha’s body. The sting travelled along Zetto’s back like a sharp spasm, sending flashbacks into his mind. The virus was definitely growing in power.  
Everyone’s heads turned as Alpha let loose a horrifying wail broken up by static. The virus’s force faded, and from underneath unveiled a twisted, dark character with long claws and a menacing red glare. The virus had taken Alpha over.  
“No way…” Zetto breathed.  
“Oh my God…” Flamey was distraught. “What the hell happened to him?! Zetto?” she asked desperately.  
He didn’t know how to answer her - he didn’t even think this was possible. “He’s been… corrupted.”

**Author's Note:**

> (originally uploaded to tumblr on April 27, 2016)
> 
> http://ravenwolfie97.tumblr.com/post/143513716188/


End file.
